Universal Boxing Gym Keeps A Community Moving
By MOHAMED FARGHALY
mfarghaly@queensledger.com
Inside a 2,500-square-foot storefront on Dry Harbor Road, the steady rhythm of gloves hitting heavy bags mixes with laughter from children and instructions echoing across a full-sized boxing ring. Universal Boxing Gym is equal parts training ground and neighborhood gathering space, drawing professional fighters, beginners and families from across Queens.
Owner Moises Roman says boxing has shaped his life since early childhood. Raised in Paterson, New Jersey, Roman grew up in a large Puerto Rican family where the sport was a constant presence.
“My brothers boxed,” Roman said. “I’ve been in the gym since I was five years old.”
After moving to New York and training locally, Roman began giving pointers to other fighters. Fellow boxers encouraged him to coach, a suggestion he said he “took and ran with,” eventually launching Universal Boxing in 2006. The gym has operated under the same name ever since, relocating over the years before settling in Middle Village about four years ago.
Roman chose the neighborhood in part because he lived nearby and wanted to build something local. With help from a fighter’s family in real estate, he found a landlord willing to take a chance on a boxing gym that promised after-school programs and youth training. The space was built almost entirely by Roman and his fighters.
“We did everything in-house,” he said. “I broke through the walls, reinforced them, put the floors down, built the desk, built the ring. It’s all out-of-pocket money. No funding, no loans.”
The gym now includes heavy bags, speed bags, double-end bags, an uppercut station and a basement outfitted for strength and conditioning with sleds, ropes, bikes and treadmills. Classes run for children as young as five, teenagers, adults and competitive fighters. On Saturdays, peewee sessions can draw dozens of kids from the neighborhood.
Roman describes the gym as a pipeline that has carried some students from childhood to professional careers.
“The amateur kids from 2007 are actually pros now, or they’re coaches,” he said. “Universal Boxing is literally a tight-knit family.”
One of those fighters, Danny Gonzales, joined at 16 unable to jump rope and unsure of himself, Roman said. Two decades later, Gonzales has fought on major cards, including at Barclays Center.
“Having a kid from 16 to now 36 — he’s been with me 20 years,” Roman said.
The gym serves a wide cross-section of the community, from professional fighters preparing for bouts to retirees looking for fitness. Roman said it’s common to see police officers, sanitation workers, students and parents training side by side.
Roman said boxing has long been rooted in blue-collar culture, a sport where working-class fighters see a rare chance to change their lives through discipline, toughness and opportunity.
“You’re not excluded,” he said. “If you’ve never boxed ever, you come in and we’re going to take care of you just like if you boxed 20 fights.”
For 17-year-old Leo, who has trained at the gym for about a year, the atmosphere made starting easier.
“It’s definitely friendly for people who want to start boxing,” he said. “I started boxing here, and it felt welcoming when I first came here.”
That sense of community was tested last summer when a four-alarm fire tore through a row of businesses on Dry Harbor Road, causing heavy smoke and water damage inside the gym and forcing a monthlong closure. Roman said the aftermath was overwhelming.
“The tiles collapsed, there was water damage, and the smoke was drawn on the floors and walls,” he said. “I’d never seen anything like it.”
He said neighbors and local businesses stepped in with donations to help rebuild. Fighters and coaches ripped out damaged materials, installed new flooring and rewired lighting themselves.
“There’s nothing like this neighborhood,” Roman said. “They held me with open arms here. I love this community.”
Roman balances running the gym with a longtime career working in a doorman building in Manhattan, relying on a coaching staff that includes retired police officers and teachers to keep classes running. Despite the long hours, he said the reward comes from watching shy children grow confident and connected.
“When you see a kid walk in shy, and by the third week he’s saying ‘What’s up, coach?’ and running with friends, it’s almost better than earning money,” he said. “You feel like you’re doing something for the community.”
Looking ahead, the gym is preparing fighters for amateur tournaments and upcoming professional bouts. But Roman says competition is only part of the mission. For many members, boxing is an outlet for stress and a path to discipline.
“You fuel your energy the positive way,” he said. “You have a stressful day at work, you burn out on that bag, you go home and feel like you averted some drastic drama.”
At Universal Boxing Gym, that release, and the relationships built around it, keep the doors open as much as any title belt.
Interested readers can visit Universal Boxing Gym in Middle Village at 64-64 Dry Harbor Rd for more information or contact the gym directly at UBGNYC@gmail.com.
